For yet another year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published the data reported by nearly 40 of the largest foundations in member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), to showcase the impact of private philanthropy. For second year running, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) ranks as the leading contributor to development in Latin America, and the world's second, next to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

45 minutes by motorcycle, half an hour by boat and 15 minutes on foot. That is how Sergio Pacheco and Victor Madera, loan officers of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation in Colombia, manage to bring financial services where no one else does. This journey is just one example among the numerous cases that can be found in the countries where the Foundation works. These are the lengths to which they go to reach those who live outside the financial system, which is another barrier to their progress. In 2020, BBVAMF has banked nearly 300,000 people in Colombia and Peru, and its two institutions combined have reached more than 2.1 million clients.

Carlos Torres Vila participated in an event sponsored by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, entitled 'Unstoppable women: Challenges to and achievements of reinvention in times of crisis'. The event, chaired by Queen Letizia of Spain, shone the spotlight on the work of Latin American women entrepreneurs and technology’s key role in propping up their resilience against the economic impact of the pandemic. Development experts from organizations such as SEGIB (Ibero-American General Secretariat), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN Women and representatives of technology companies such as Google also took part in the event.

The 9th of August is the day the United Nations honors the indigenous people for their efforts in protecting biodiversity and a millenium-old culture. They comprise 6% of the world’s population but their territory houses 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. Indigenous communities possess valuable knowledge on how to preserve the environment and care for natural resources. However, they face challenges that put their survival at risk, such as the lack of basic services like health -especially during the COVID-19 pandemic- or access to finance. Among other obstacles that hinder their progress is the lack of infrastructure, but the language barrier is also significant.

To know that they help improve people’s lives is what encourages Roberta, Fernanda, Omar, Yuriem and Teresa to face the day. As part of more than 4,000 microfinance officers of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) in five Latin American countries, they reach places where others don’t go, to make financial services more accessible to low-income entrepreneurs who need only an opportunity to develop their livelihoods.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has presented its report on private development financing. The study assessed more than 30 of the largest foundations in the OECD member countries and reveals that the BBVA Microfinance Foundation disbursed $1.2 billion in 2018. This represents 83 percent of the total of this kind of financing in Latin America, BBVAMF's sole operating region. BBVAMF thus places first in the region and second globally, after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A finales del siglo XIX y durante el primer tercio del siglo XX, Sudamérica se convirtió en una prominente región de destino de la migración, principalmente de Europa, China y Japón. La depresión económica que vivía Occidente, las guerras europeas, y las reminiscencia de las antiguas metrópolis hicieron de los países sudamericanos el destino elegido por millones de personas que buscaban un futuro más próspero.

The award underscores the role that the Group is playing, spearheading the digital transformation process of the region’s financial sector by rolling out, on an ongoing basis, innovative products and services that seek to bring the age of opportunity to everyone. The publication also recognized BBVA as the best digital bank in Spain in the Corporate/Institutional category.

Los proyectos de vivienda social se siguen expandiendo consistentemente en el mercado inmobiliario peruano. Ante ello, BBVA ofrece créditos hipotecarios con un financiamiento desde un 5% de cuota inicial. Estas alternativas, sumadas al bono verde y a los subsidios del Estado, conforman interesantes opciones para los clientes de todo el país.

On Saturday, March 30th, the world came together to celebrate Earth Hour, an initiative promoted by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Entire cities went dark for an hour to raise awareness and urge people to join the global movement in support of the environment and the protection of the planet. BBVA’s HQ in Spain - Ciudad BBVA – as well as other corporate buildings and headquarters in other countries, including Mexico, the U.S., Colombia, Peru, Uruguay or Argentina, also showcased their commitment to sustainability and the fight against climate change.

Global Finance magazine named BBVA the best bank in Latin America, and the best bank in Peru in 2019. According to the publication, over the past year BBVA has stood out for numerous factors, including its customer service, risk management, the range of products and services it offers and the intelligent use of technology.

Rut Pelaiza has spent her entire life as an example: for her parents, for her daughters, and since five years ago, for the thousands of women in the Palabra de Mujer [Woman’s Word] program run by the Peruvian institution of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation. She recalls that she always wanted to be independent and with pride, shares how she managed to achieve this goal when she grew up.

We all remember those teachers who asked us what we want to be when we grow up. A critical moment in a child's life because that is when we begin to build our sense of self and anticipate what we might achieve in the future. A study published by the magazine Science reveals that girls from the age of six are less prone to consider their own sex as “brilliant”. The significant inequality between men and women, gender stereotypes, and the way we educate them cause girls to limit their aspirations, to build walls in their own heads.

BBVA is developing an open innovation program in the region, known as fast track, which makes it possible to streamline and make more efficient the processes that the Group develops together with startups to implement new digital products and services for the benefit of customers.

Pastry chef Jordi Roca introduced his new book 'Casa Cacao' ('Cocoa House'), a cookbook full of creations where chocolate plays the leading role. Co-authored with food journalist Ignacio Medina, this cookbook is also an encyclopedic dedication to cocoa and follows both men on their journey through various parts of Latin America in search of the best chocolate in the world. The launch of the book in Madrid included participation from Oscar Moya, BBVA’s Director of Global Sponsorships and Corporate Content, and Lydia Diaz, Director of Planeta Gastro, a Spanish publishing house specializing in gastronomy. This book is a prelude to a gastronomic venue that Jordi Roca will open next year in Girona, in northeastern Spain. BBVA will produce a documentary to accompany the kick-off of the new venue.

Marcos, Marcela, Lucy, Juan, Adelaida, and Luz are not six names just pulled from a hat. They are six Latin American entrepreneurs who are getting ahead using small loans, savings, and microinsurance that protects what they are building. They are six of the 2 million people served by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF).

According to BBVA Research’s Latin America Economic Outlook report for the second quarter of 2018, the region’s positive trends of recent years are set to continue, with GDP growth forecasted at 1.4% for 2018 and 2.5% for 2019. However, BBVA’s study service has downgraded its 2018 growth forecast for the region by three tenths.

José Manuel González-Páramo, BBVA’s Executive Director Responsible for Global Economics, Regulation & Public Affairs, will chair the recently created Spain-Peru Council Foundation, a non-profit body set up with the aim of fostering relations between the two countries.

Economic activity in Latin America has been invigorated in recent months, in line with the recovery of confidence among families and businesses and a more favorable external context. In its Latin America Economic Outlook for first quarter 2018, BBVA Research forecasts that the region’s growth will increase from 1.1% in 2017 to 1.7% in 2018 and 2.5% in 2019.

At BBVA, new digital solutions for customers are constantly being developed. The bank´s affiliates in Mexico, Peru and Chile are launching new tools for personal finance, implementing the use of the digital signature for contracting loans, and adding new functions to their cell phone apps.

BBVA continued leading the way to innovation in Latin America during 2017, becoming the region’s digital bank par excellence. That distinction was confirmed by Global Finance magazine, which judged BBVA’s mobile banking app to be the best in Latin America. BBVA’s local franchises in the region have set the pace in the development of products and services which, just as in the case of mobile banking, aim to make their customers’ lives easier and deliver on the Group’s intent to bring the age of opportunity to everyone.

Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Chile are examples of BBVA’s commitment to digitization and to offering the most advanced services for customers in the all markets where the bank operates. Chatbots, online investment funds and corporate leasing functions are all evidence of the bank’s progress in Latin America.

The TCR principles are the foundation of the roadmap BBVA wants to follow to achieve its goal of becoming the leading bank in transparency, clarity and responsibility. Still, there’s a long road ahead, one that requires work on two essential levels: traditional and digital banking.

The Pacific Alliance, made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, is a regional economic and comercial powerhouse.  This area grows more than the average in Latin America. BBVA Research expects GDP growth of 1.6% and 2.3% in 2017 and 2018, respectively.  "The Pacific Alliance is a success story in integration.  And not by chance.  It shares an ambition and a set of values behind this policy, on how prosperity should be reached," said Jose Manuel González-Páramo, executive director of BBVA in Santander.

Argentina and Brazil are finally pulling out of recession and driving the economic growth in Latin America as a whole this year, despite the slowdown in other countries in the region. According to BBVA Resarch’s ‘Latin America Economic Outlook’ Q3 report, the region will grow 0.8% in 2017 and 1.7% in 2018.

BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila saw the BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s (FMBBVA) work in Peru first-hand through Financiera Confianza. To do so, he went to one of the most underprivileged  places in Lima, where he visited with several entrepreneurs – all women – who have found an opportunity to improve their quality of live and contribute to the economic development of their family and community thanks to microcredit.

The BBVA Continental Foundation, in association with Fondo Social de Paita (Social Fund of Paita), the Provincial Municipality of Paita, the Local Educational Management Unit of Paita and the Port Terminal of Paita, rolled out “Leer es estar Adelante (Reading Means Keeping Ahead),” a program aimed at helping students build their reading and understanding skills, in 13 public schools in the Province of Paita.

The economic slowdown in Latin America will come to an end this year, with a 1.1% growth rate in the region. Forecasts by BBVA Research estimate that in 2018, the region´s economy will continue to recover, with GDP expanding at the rate of 1.8%. This is still well below its potential, which is estimated at close to 3%.

Five global teams from BBVA Customer Solutions and five local teams from BBVA in South America. A total of 10 teams met in Dallas (Texas) with a common goal in mind: connecting around shared projects to ensure that BBVA capitalizes on global capacities to create amazing customer experiences. That was BBVA South America’s Global Week in Dallas.

BBVA launches the sixth edition of its social entrepreneurship support program, which from now on will be global – it will be developed in Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey and Colombia –, will offer support to more companies and will adjust better to the reality of social entrepreneurs. BBVA Momentum channels its support through five initiatives: a training program; a strategic mentoring program; a network of entrepreneurs, customers and investors; collaboration to provide visibility to the companies; and, finally, funding.

Thirty years ago, microfinance revolutionized the market with affordable loans for the disadvantaged. Until then, the most vulnerable population segments were left out on the fringes of the financial system, and had no way of accessing credit. Today, with 2 billion adults still unbanked, new technologies are emerging with the potential to reach more people at a lower cost. But this opportunity is having a challenging impact on the current microfinance model, which was built on the pillars of personal relations and trust.

South America’s GDP will recover in 2017 after four years of economic slowdown, while Mexico will bear the impact of the uncertainty surrounding US policies, which is likely to hinder its growth prospects. These are the key conclusions of BBVA Research's Latin America Outlook Q1 2017 report.

Creating Opportunities is the BBVA Group’s new tagline. After a decade, ‘Adelante’ is giving way to a new tagline that fits with the bank’s new purpose: To bring the age of opportunity to everyone. In this interview, Carlos Ricardo, the BBVA Group’s Marketing Director and Brand Director Carlos Pérez Beruete explain the process that led to the new tagline. It will also be accompanied by a new image, identity, sound and value proposition. “2017 will be the year that consumers clearly see how the bank has been transforming in recent years,” they say.

BBVA has a new tagline: Creating Opportunities. The bank will start using it in February and it will be progressively introduced in all countries, all communications to customers and all of BBVA’s printed and digital materials. BBVA’s new tagline sums up the bank’s purpose, launched a few months ago: “To bring the age of opportunity to everyone”

The 2017 business year will mark a turning point for Latin American economies, with an estimate growth of 1.3% for the region as a whole, compared to a 1.3% dip in 2016. This is what emerges from BBVA Research’s 4th Quarter Latin America Outlook report. The recovery, however, will be gradual and the region will remain well below potential growth, about 3%.

The day after Thanksgiving, or the last Friday of November, is celebrated nearly all over the world as Black Friday, the day that marks the first day of Christmas shopping. Over the years, with the arrival of new technologies, sales have been extended to Monday, known as Cyber Monday when discounts are offered for online shoppers.

Millenials have become the true engine of Latin America’s society. Not only in economic terms, but also in political and social aspects. They have witnessed the comeback of one of the most powerful regions in the world, and have been granted access to far greater technological resources than they would’ve ever imagined.

After a turbulent end of 2015 for Latin American emerging markets, fuelled by the collapse of commodity prices, the first half of 2016 has been quite different. Since January, investment funds operating in Latin America have reported solid profitability ratios, in many cases above 10%.

BBVA has once again been recognized, this time by the panel of the ECOFIN Awards, which has selected the bank as the best “International Brand-Image for Spain” in 2016. The award recognizes the work carried out by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (FMBBVA) and the advice provided by BBVA to companies that expand abroad.